The Wrongest Way To Debate Animal Rights

Radio Station Defends Using Rabbit As Prop In Shocking Stunt

Be warned: This is an upsetting story. A Danish radio station horrified animal lovers around the world after it allowed one of its morning DJs to kill a rabbit — on air — and then cook and serve it to his co-hosts. And, in case you thought it couldn't get worse, the radio station is defending the horrific stunt as part of a debate over animal rights.

Things started Monday, when Radio 24syv, a privately funded station, posted video on Facebook of the nine-week-old bunny, looking every bit as fluffy as you'd expect a furry herbivore named Allan to be. Then, the station posted an audio clip of host Asger Juhl doing the gruesome deed.

The DJ and the station argued that killing the rabbit made an important point about which types of animals Danish people feel deserve rights and which do not, according to The New York Times. Rabbits are eaten in countries all over the world, but any point about public opposition to killing cute animals or the value of eating animals raised humanely outside of factory farms got lost when Juhl bludgeoned one with a bicycle pump.

The debate over America's consumption of meat is contentious and serious — think about how much water it takes to keep California's livestock healthy — but luckily it hasn't devolved to killing animals just to make people think.